Hide and Seek; Find and Follow

Back in the spring I was trying to think of a fun way for families to focus on the real meaning of the season of Advent.  "Hide and Seek; Find and Follow" was born.  Families are invited to search for the star and follow it to the gift of Christmas, just like the Wise Men so long ago.

I asked a church member is he could cut out some wooden stars which were thick enough to stand on their own.  He created these using a cookie cutter as a pattern.  As families arrived, they were given a star an invited to paint and decorate it.  When the decorating was complete, I hot-glued a small clothespin to the back.  Each family was given a set of 30 note cards (3X5 cards cut in half) and an instruction sheet.

Here's how Hide and Seek; Find and Follow is played:  One family member writes a note with instructions for an activity which the family family can complete together.  (The instruction sheet listed 25 samples such as scriptures to read, singing a favorite Christmas carol as dinner grace, cleaning out closets and donating unused clothes to a local charity etc.) After the note is clipped on to the star, the star is placed somewhere in the home.  The next day, as family members go about their routine, they look for the star.  When the star is located, everyone gathers to read what they are to do together.  The person who finds the star hides it the next day.

Special thanks to my friend Ann Boles whose family Elf helped inspire this activity!

The boys and girls who made the stars were eager to share their unique ideas for tasks which will remind them of the good news of Christ Jesus.  They were not willing to share their ideas for hiding places!

Prayer Cards

During Advent and Lent I like to create what I call "Spiritual Practices for the Home".  These are little things that I give the children at the end of the Children's Sermon during each service of worship.  They are typically "kits" that the boys and girls will take home with an activity to complete as a family.   This past Sunday I gave the children a booklet called "Prayers for Mornings and Anytime".  I included 12 child friendly prayers for morning, mid-day and bed-time.  Last year I gave the children a set of "Mealtime Prayers" which included a section for prayers at home and prayers on the go (fast food).  My hope is to create two more sets for the next two years, "Prayers for Special Occasions" and "Prayers of Friends and Family".  The prior will include prayers for life experiences that may be stressful for children, things like first day of school, death of a pet etc.  The latter will include prayers written by boys and girls in our congregation.  Over the course of 4 years, the children will collect a nice set of prayers they can relate to and pray on their own.

This idea requires no actual work on my part and I think it will be fun!  As a child I loved playing with the nativity set.  I told the story of Jesus' birth to  myself and others over and over.  As I grew up, I promised myself that I would always have nativity sets that children can play with.  While in graduate school I had the opportunity to take an introductory Play Therapy class.  I learned through this class just how important play is to children.  Boys and girls, learn, create, discern and commit to memory through the world of play.

I am placing a small table just outside my office door.  Each week from Advent through Epiphany, I will put a different nativity set on the table.  I have invited parents to bring their children by to play.  I am putting it outside of my office so that they can play even if I'm not in.  Of course, if I am in, I may just go play with them!

The nativity set featured above is from the Fisher Price Little People collection.  It is available at mass retailers and through the Fisher Price website.